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Today we have a guest post from a frequent contributor that we know as Candi, CSW. Read on to see how Candi experienced an attitude-adjusting evening (all with the wine in mind, of course).
Recently I had some exposure to the not-for-profit benefit sphere. My prior experience was confined to what I saw in the back of “brain vacation” magazines. I admit to mostly negative, preconceived notions about benefits. Garden clubs, lawn clubs, sororities, any organization for those with too much time on their hands.
No one has ever accused me of the glamour often associated with such events. I’m a former Midwesterner whose wine acquisition strategy is frugal, sometimes even cheap. But what happens when a wine geek finds a benefit-related attraction for a worthy cause or two?
I learned about a benefit event a few months ago from a fellow wine geek. The event was only about an hour from our home, has a 10+ year track record, and the cause is related to my volunteer work. There is significant overlap between “my” charity and the “benefit” charity. There was an attraction…and I felt strangely drawn to attend.
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As in many benefits, there was a silent auction. Never been there, never done that. More than 100 “lots”, which I learned are items or a group of items. In this situation, about 90% of the lots were wine. Other lots were wine-related.
The event sponsor demonstrated a strong sense of commitment to the cause and ethics in the preceding months. Admission tickets were obtained via payment directly to the charity. All auction lots were donated. All auction proceeds would go directly to the charity. I searched appropriate charity-screening websites. The cause and organization passed all tests.
I was hooked. My husband graciously agreed to go, and to be my trusty designated driver. Did I mention that donated wine and food would be served during the event? And that some of the vintners who donated would attend? Sounded even better!
Tickets purchased, well before the event sold out. Which it did. As it has for years.
Then came the anticipatory fun. We were given a list of the silent auction items, which continued to increase as the event drew near. I began picking out my target lots, having no idea what to expect. Same drill for target wines to taste. Got to at least have a plan as a starting point.
The big day arrived. A bright, sunny, beautiful day. All afternoon, we were plied with more fine wine and fine food than I had ever seen. A very high-class operation, featuring many small-production wines with which I had no experience. An emphasis on several of my favorite varietals: Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon. With the auction set to end about an hour before the event.
The crowd was about evenly divided between wine geeks and folks who simply appreciate wine. Usually one geek and one non-geek per couple. We mingled. We tasted. There were many opportunities to sample, to chat with vintners, to learn more about the charity from their development staff and clients, and to share feedback with fellow geeks. I began to feel a strong sense of community. A strong bond, almost like, for that day, we were family.
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In short, it was extraordinary. The experience does not rise to the level of an epiphany, but certainly changed my perspective. This development was not the result of the wine talking. I have enough experience at wine events to employ food strategically, to hydrate, and to sip and spit. My critical thinking was clear.
As the time allocated for the silent auction drew to a close, I bid on one lot of wine. Bids were consistently well above the “actual” value of each lot. But, again, all payments would be made directly to the charity. So I participated. I did not win, but that’s okay. I learned. In any other setting, paying above reasonable value would have equaled a rip-off to me. Not when the proceeds go to a worthy cause, though. Thus the term “worthy-cause wine”. I have a new category added to my acquisition repertoire.
Less than one week later, my husband casually mentioned that a close relative was attending a benefit in her small town in a different state. Apparently, she was volunteering to assist in setting up the event, then attending the “gala”.
Now that I had personal experience, something triggered. I went online, got an overview of the event. It was on a much larger scale than the one I experienced, and would benefit yet another worthy cause.
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The family geek ended up calling said relative a few days before the gala. She agreed to check out the silent auction area the next day, and to let me know if there were any wine lots. This event’s silent auction was broader in focus, with most items being in the luxury goods category. Examples: one-of-a-kind trips, fine dining, jewelry. You get the picture.
But among the many items, there were two wine lots. One case of whites, one mixed case of reds and whites. Knowing our taste, she sent a photo of the mixed case. The photo clearly showed the label, the vintner, and a few of the specific wines. Uh oh. Up went my wine-dar (i.e., wine radar).
The vintner was a small producer whose tasting room we had visited a few years ago. We bought some of his wines. We met the vintner and got a sense of his approach and, most importantly, his underlying sense of pride in his work.
Did we need a mixed case of wine? Of course not. But consider our prior experience with the wine. And the fact that we trust the relative’s judgment. We chose to give the relative a maximum amount that we would bid through her. We noted that if any other family members who were attending wanted to participate as well, that was fine. We could work out specifics in the unlikely event that we won.
In prior years, cases of wine lots at this event were won at a substantial markup to actual value. So we had no expectation of winning. And, the prior week, I had lost my bid which was above value. But so what? Let the games begin!
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The night of the gala, we received a few photos of the setting and of people having a wonderful time. Beautiful setting, everyone glammed up. All having a great time to support the cause. We vicariously enjoyed their sense of community. After all, we had been there and done that.
Overnight, we received a text message from our bidder-in-chief (or, if you’re a baseball fan, our designated bidder). Much to our amazement, we won. The full case. She had gone just a bit over our maximum bid, and was prepared to take some of the wine in return. But we realized that she really was not interested in the wine, and was just being polite. We took the entire case.
We have no idea why we won. What I do know is that our bidder-in-chief was superb. Together with her, my husband and I did the right thing. And we will find a place to put that wine. We will enjoy it, knowing why and how it was acquired.
Worthy-Cause Wine Cheers!